My joyfilled planner

I have been using a planner as a prayer journal and a place to write about what the Word of God teaches me for quite some time. It reminds me to be intentional about looking for joy in my life on a daily basis. That joy comes first through a relationship with God. Once that relationship is in order, then it is easy to see the hand of God all around me - in His creation and in His influence in the events that happen in my life.

Today our world is so often filled with evil, sadness and corruption that we can grow afraid. When we stand on His Word and strive to be more and more like Him in the small, daily things in our life, then the fear lifts and a sense of peace can ensue even when things in the world are less than peaceful.

It is God who created us and who offers us salvation and grace. It is ours to accept and walk day by day.

I have found great joy in Him as I worked to create images that might grace a joy filled planner. I pray that this endeavor may bring a spot of joy into your life also. You are invited to come and see the planner inserts I have been working on for the last several months and to share with me in making the search for joy in God's world an intentional part of your life. Come and visit my Etsy shop - Planning4joy!

I would be most blessed if you would share it with your friends! Thank you.
Here is my planner for you to see.

When fear and frustration, anger and grief fill our minds it becomes hard for our eyes to perceive the many moments of joy God sends our way rach and every day. When we set our intention to be aware and seek the moments of joy then gradually all the negatives begin to fade.

I have had a difficult time over the last week or so - difficult enough that I simply could not sit here at my computer and write. Worry took a toll on me. Until the day my granddaughter Maddy came to spend the day. She wanted to create something special to set her room apart. She wanted to make the space she had her own.

We talked about what her vision was. She knows me well enough to know that I will honor her ideas and not impose my own. Our agreement is that when she makes art, it is hers alone. I tell her my thought only if there is something she wants to do that I know will not work. For instance, if she wants to paint watercolor on top of glossy acrylics, I will let her try but also tell her why it might not work. I want her to feel confident and to know that she is learning as we all must do when we try new things.

We managed to get one of her projects done and another is in the works. I found a moment of great joy when I quietly watched her working. She was taking such care as she decorated some words to hang on her wall. She was quiet, as was I. And I saw a small smile play on her lips as she worked. My cares slipped away for that moment and I felt the joy.

Often in our culture we work very hard at manufacturing happiness. We are told that things will make us happy. Sometimes when we seek happiness, we seek the big thrill, the excitement of possession or striving. Happiness is a good thing but it can be shallow and fleeting.

Joy I have found tends to sneak up on me. It tip toes into my heart and often no one else knows. It stirs my heart and puts a smile on my face. And more often than not, it sneaks up when I give to others in a quiet way.

Seek joy, give it permission to enter your heart. We will always have cares. Life is often not exactly as we wish it to be. But when your heart and mind are open to joy, God surely will send it your way.